Pirates take 6-game losing streak into matchup with Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates (48-67, fifth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (59-55, third in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Joe Musgrove (8-10, 4.69 ERA) Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (7-8, 4.50 ERA)
LINE: Cardinals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh enters the matchup as losers of their last six games.
The Cardinals are 27-20 against the rest of their division. The St. Louis pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.08, Jack Flaherty paces the staff with a mark of 3.72.
The Pirates are 20-33 against NL Central Division teams. Pittsburgh ranks sixth in the MLB in hitting with a .265 batting average, Bryan Reynolds leads the club with an average of .334. The Cardinals won the last meeting 6-2. Carlos Martinez earned his third victory and Marcell Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for St. Louis. Richard Rodriguez took his fifth loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paul DeJong leads the Cardinals with 47 extra base hits and is batting .251. Matt Wieters is 7-for-29 with a double, a home run and four RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 27 home runs and has 89 RBIs. Starling Marte is 13-for-40 with a triple, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 3-7, .234 batting average, 3.47 ERA, outscored by 11 runs
Pirates: 2-8, .243 batting average, 5.90 ERA, outscored by 22 runs
Cardinals Injuries: Jordan Hicks: (elbow), Tony Cingrani: (shoulder), Brett Cecil: (wrist/forearm), Tyler O'Neill: (wrist), Yadier Molina: (thumb).
Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: (elbow), Edgar Santana: (elbow), Chad Kuhl: (elbow), Clay Holmes: (triceps), Rookie Davis: (finger/forearm), Nick Burdi: (biceps), Gregory Polanco: (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: (finger), Francisco Cervelli: (concussion).
